Philadelphia Wings shoot for playoff berth in weekend road series

The Philadelphia Wings take the turf this weekend shooting to clinch a playoff berth for the second consecutive season.

The Wings will hit the road for a two game road series against West division foes Minnesota Swarm (today at the Xcel Energy Center and Colorado Mammoth on Saturday at the Pepsi Center. With two wins, the Wings will secure a spot in the NLL post-season.

Last week’s bye afforded the Wings an opportunity to rest and get players back in the lineup. This weekend, Philadelphia will get their leadership back on the field when Captain Brodie Merrill and Assistant Captain Brett Manney return after missing the previous two games due to injuries.

“It will be good to get Brodie back in the lineup,” said Wings Assistant General Manager Jimmy Butler. “His leadership and direction will help us get back to where we need to be and we look forward to getting him back on the floor.”

Manney and Merrill’s return could not come at a better time for the Wings defense as they will be playing the first game of the series without the services of veteran goaltender Brandon Miller and rookie defender Michael Manley, both of whom are serving a one-game suspension for their parts in a fight in the Wings’ March 9 game against the Washington Stealth.

On the offensive end, the Wings will get a boost on the left side when forward Brendan Mundorf returns for his first game of the season in Minnesota after sitting out the first 10 games recovering from an off-season leg injury. The Wings offense, which has had some slow starts early in the season will benefit from the experience and scoring of Mundorf, who scored 28 goals in 2012.

At 5-5 the Wings are two games behind the Toronto Rock for first place in the East and a game up on Buffalo. Both the Swarm and the Mammoth sit at the bottom of the West division at 4-7 and 4-8 respectively.

Philadelphia will get their first look at Minnesota today and then again just a week later when they host the Swarm at Wells Fargo Center on April 7. The Swarm lead 10-7 overall in head-to-head matchups but come into the weekend losing three of their last four games.

Kevin Ross will see some familiar faces in Minnesota when he returns to the Xcel Energy Center for the first time in a Wings uniform. The Wings acquired the Canadian forward in an off-season trade from the Swarm and has bolstered the right side, scoring 35 points so far this season.

In the Wings previous meeting with the Mammoth, Philadelphia defeated Colorado at Wells Fargo Center 14-12. This Mammoth squad will have bit of a different look this time around, after acquiring Casey Powell from Rochester at the trade deadline.

Powell joins an already strong offense in Denver with superstar John Grant Jr., who currently leads the league in goals (35) and is third in overall points (70).

The Wings will return home to Wells Fargo Center for their final two home games on April 7 and April 13. Tickets for the remaining two home games at Wells Fargo Center are available by phone at 215-389-WING or online at www.WingsLAX.com.